


Fanciful Notions

by regenderate



Series: Special Occasions [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Formalwear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 21:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18106922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regenderate/pseuds/regenderate
Summary: Yaz had forgotten about the wedding.Or, she hadn’t forgotten, really-- it had just been far in the future, and then she had started time traveling and it became even farther in her own personal future, but then one night her mum said, “Yaz, Sonya, aren’t you two going to your friend’s wedding tomorrow?”--Yaz brings the Doctor as a plus-one to her friend's wedding. It's completely platonic (or so she thinks).





	Fanciful Notions

**Author's Note:**

> it is very important to note that, when characters are texting, i've used the name that the person they're texting has for them in their phone to tag their text. so yaz is "yaz" when she's talking to ryan and "yaz!!!!!!!" when she's talking to the doctor. just gonna put that out there because sonya has her in her phone as "bitch" and i don't want anyone to think i think yaz is a bitch

Yaz had forgotten about the wedding.

Or, she hadn’t forgotten, really-- it had just been far in the future, and then she had started time traveling and it became even farther in her own personal future, but then one night she and the gang were having tea with her family, squeezed around their dining room table, talking about their plans for the next day, and her mum said, “Yaz, Sonya, aren’t you two going to your friend’s wedding tomorrow?”

“Oh, is that tomorrow?” Yaz asked. The wedding was that of one of her primary school friends, Saira-- they had kept in touch after they had stopped going to the same school, and Saira had tutored Sonya in maths for a while. And now Saira was getting married, and Yaz had almost forgotten about it.

“What, lost track of  _ time _ ?” Sonya asked, cutting her eyes to Yaz.

Yaz rolled her eyes. 

“Must’ve,” was all she said. Sonya had figured out about the whole time travel thing ages ago and had spent the weeks since threatening to tell their parents. It didn’t matter-- either their parents wouldn’t believe her, or they would and Yaz would keep doing what she was doing anyway, but she would rather not deal with the fuss of having them find out and potentially disapprove. 

“Hold up,” Ryan said. “Is that Saira who was in our class year five?”

“Oh, are you coming to the wedding?” Sonya asked.

“Sonya,” Yaz warned.

“What?” Sonya asked. “It’s just a question.”

“Yeah, I said I’d be there,” Ryan said. “Don’t know what I’ll wear.”

“I have an old friend who was about your height,” the Doctor said, her mouth full. “You might fit some of his clothes.”

“Is this the one with the eyebrows?” Ryan asked. “Or bowtie? I’ve always wanted to wear a bowtie.”

“I was thinking of eyebrows,” the Doctor said. “Although I could definitely lend you a bowtie.”

“I’ll take it,” Ryan said. 

“Do you want to come, Doctor?” Yaz asked. “I can take a plus one.”

“Oh, you mean like a  _ date _ ?” Sonya asked.

Yaz wanted to kick her under the table, but she had no way of telling whose leg was whose, and she wasn’t about to run the risk of kicking her mum instead. 

“I mean like two friends going to a wedding together,” Yaz said. “As  _ friends _ .”

She thought she caught Graham and Ryan exchanging a look, but she ignored it. There was nothing wrong with taking her lonely time traveling friend with her to a wedding so that she didn’t have to sit alone in her giant spaceship all day pretending to be busy. She knew what the Doctor got up to, and it was a little sad, to tell the truth.

“Oh, I’ll have to find something to wear,” the Doctor said. “Haven’t had to dress up since I was a man!”

Yaz raised an eyebrow at her.

“Kidding!” she said. “I mean since I was younger. Smaller, you know. Clothes fit differently, now that I’m-- blonde. Anyway. I’m sure I can find something lying around.”

Translation: she’d be ransacking the TARDIS wardrobe later. Yaz smiled to herself, thinking of the Doctor running through the wardrobe, pulling out random pieces, trying to put them together, and then she immediately schooled her expression into something that Sonya, her mother, and Ryan wouldn’t all tease her about later.

“Well,” Ryan said, “if you can take a  _ friend _ , think I could get away with inviting a granddad?”

He was next to Yaz, so she figured she knew where his leg was. She kicked him under the table. 

“What, me?” Graham asked. “You want me to come to a stranger’s wedding?”

“Could be fun,” Ryan said. 

“Hope it’s not  _ too _ strange,” Sonya said, with another look at Yaz.

“Might be if you’re there,” Yaz said, getting up to take her dishes to the sink.

Later, she walked her friends down from the flat. Ryan and Graham split off with a wave, and Yaz found herself standing at the door of the TARDIS with the Doctor.

“Are you sure I’ll be welcome tomorrow?” the Doctor asked. “I haven’t been to a 21st century wedding in at least a thousand years.  _ And  _ I’ve forgotten how to dance!”

“It’s fine,” Yaz said. “Saira’s nice. She’ll love you.”

“What should I wear?” the Doctor asked. “I don’t know what people wear to weddings! Oh, I hate when I can’t just wear the same outfit as always.” She paused. “Yaz, I think I’m nervous. Is this what nervous feels like?”

“You’ll be  _ fine _ ,” Yaz repeated. “Just find a pretty dress or something.”

“Oh! A dress!” The Doctor grinned. “I always wanted to wear a dress. Don’t think it’d be practical every day, but I think I can pull it off for a wedding.”

“You’re going to hate it,” Yaz said. “But I’m excited to see it.” She smiled, touching the Doctor’s arm. “Night, Doctor.”

“G’night, Yaz,” the Doctor said, and she disappeared into her TARDIS with a smile.

Yaz walked back up to her flat, enjoying the cool air against her bare arms. She ignored Sonya’s pointed, “Does it always take you that long to walk down the stairs and back?” and walked into her room, changing into a pair of pajamas and falling backwards onto her bed. 

She woke up the next morning to a flurry of texts from the Doctor:

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (3:16 AM): Yaz!!! ! !! What time’s the wedding???? 👰 👰  _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (4:29 AM): I found a pair of heels in the TARDIS but she *really* doesn’t want me to wear them what do I do? _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (4:43 AM): Never mind, I can’t walk in heels. Do you think it’ll be okay if I wear flats??? I really haven’t done this before! _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (5:08 AM): YAZ!!!! THIS IS HARD!!! 😰😱😬 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (5:43 AM): Are you sure your friend will be okay with me being there? _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (6:01 AM): I think I’ve decided on an outfit! 💃💃💃 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (6:06 AM): Actually, I’m just going to wear my regular outfit until you tell me it’s time to go. _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (6:24 AM): I can’t get my dress off!!! _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (6:25 AM): This is why I only wear one outfit, you know. I know how it goes on, I know how it comes off. Easy.  _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (6:38 AM): Now I’m bored.😩😴 Can I bring you breakfast? 🍳🥞🥓 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (7:36 AM): The cafe by your flat makes EXCELLENT croissants.🥐🥐🥐🥐🥐☕️☕️☕️ _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (7:37 AM): I’ve saved some for you and the gang, by the way. _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (7:45 AM): Ryan and Graham aren’t answering my texts either. 👎 Why do humans have to sleep so much??? LOL!!! _

Yaz looked at her clock. It was 8 AM. She laughed and texted the Doctor back.

_ yaz!!!!!!!😊😊😊 (8:02 AM): relax, Doctor! wedding’s not til 3. I’ll pick you up at the TARDIS when it’s time to go. croissants welcome anytime😘  _

Barely a minute later, she heard a knock on the door. She jumped out of bed, still in her pajamas, phone in her hand. She worried for a moment about her how her hair looked, reminded herself that the Doctor didn’t care how her hair looked, remembered that if she stopped to brush her hair Sonya or, worse, one of her parents might get to the door first, and ran to open the door, grabbing a pair of shoes along the way. The Doctor was standing there, in her striped shirt and long coat, holding a paper bag. 

“Croissant?” she asked, holding out the bag.

“Yeah,” Yaz said. “Outside, though. Don’t want to wake everyone up.”

“I’ll be quiet!” the Doctor hissed.

“Not gonna risk it,” Yaz said, pushing the Doctor out the door and closing it behind them. “Come on, we can go down by the TARDIS.”

“Oh, all right,” the Doctor said. “The TARDIS it is, then.”

Yaz slipped her bare feet into her shoes and followed the Doctor down the steps, smiling to herself. 

She sat outside with the Doctor for almost an hour, eating the croissant and talking about where they might go the next day. It was idyllic, really. Eventually, though, she got a text from Sonya:

_ Sonya🤞🏽🎧💅🏽 (8:54 AM):where r u? need help deciding what 2 wear _

_ Sonya🤞🏽🎧💅🏽 (8:54 AM): ooooohhhh are u w/ the dr???👀👀👀 _

Yaz rolled her eyes.

_ bitch (8:55 AM): yeah, we’re just outside.  _

_ bitch (8:56 AM): you should thank me, by the way. she was going to come inside and wake everyone up. _

_ Sonya🤞🏽🎧💅🏽 (8:56 AM): whatever. just get ur butt up here k? _

_ bitch (8:57 AM: fine.  _

“Got to go,” she said to the Doctor. “Sonya’s having a clothing emergency.”

“Thought the wedding wasn’t until later,” the Doctor said.

“It’s not,” Yaz said, standing up. “But we have to do our hair, and maybe makeup, and get dressed, and then get to the venue. It takes time.”

“Oh, I forgot about makeup,” the Doctor said, jumping to her feet. “Do I have to do makeup?”

“You don’t have to,” Yaz said. “It’s just if you want it. But you look good the way you are.” 

The Doctor grinned. 

“Thanks, Yaz,” she said. “S’pose I’d better get to bringing Ryan my old suit.”

“If he’s even awake yet,” Yaz said.

“Humans!” the Doctor exclaimed. “Why do you  _ sleep _ so much?”

“Ryan makes it a bit of an art form,” Yaz admitted. “Talk to you later, Doctor.”

She ran back up the steps to the flat. Sonya was waiting for her in the doorway, head tilted to the side, a challenge in her eyes. 

“Morning,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, shut it,” Yaz said. 

“Wonder what could drag you out of the flat at nine in the morning,” Sonya said, turning to walk back inside.

“At least I was awake to be dragged,” Yaz said. Sonya rarely got up before ten on weekends. “Is this how you treat your sister who’s about to help you pick out an outfit?”

“Two outfits,” Sonya said. “I need a new one for the reception.”

Yaz rolled her eyes.

“Two outfits, then,” she said. “Show me the choices.”

She helped Sonya find the right outfits, and then she picked out two for herself. By the time she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to decide how to wear her hair, she was already tired of the whole thing.

But… she was  _ really _ looking forward to seeing the Doctor in a dress later.

She didn’t do makeup-- she had always hated it, and besides, her face was fine the way it was. With her hair done, and all dressed up, she would look different enough, anyway.

She twisted her hair back into a low bun, checked the time on her phone to see that she had both three hours and over fifteen new messages, and sat at the kitchen table, reading her texts.

_ Ryan💯💯💯 (9:12 AM): did you tell the dr to come over here _

_ Ryan💯💯💯 (9:12 AM): i need my beauty sleep yaz! _

_ Ryan💯💯💯 (9:12 AM): dope suit though. past her had style _

_ Ryan💯💯💯 (10:48 AM): good news i’m awake again. doctor’s gone. i’ll assume she’s off trying to find someone who’ll talk to her. _

_ yaz (11:13 AM): yeah, pretty sure she’s just been texting me from the TARDIS. I’ll keep you posted.  _

 

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (9:15 AM): Pretty sure I just woke up Ryan… 😬 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (9:21 AM): Update!! ! He looks great in my old suit! 🤵🏿🌈💥🎩🎊 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (9:34 AM): Update to the update… he went back to bed… 😥 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (9:46 AM): YAZ I’M BORED AND GRAHAM WON’T TALK TO ME HELP!! ! !!  _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (9:48 AM): Sorry, I know you’re getting ready with your sister. No pressure to respond. _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (9:54 AM): Guess I’ll go back to the TARDIS. You can find me in there if you need me. Parked in the same place and everything. _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (10:05 AM): Yaz! Should I curl my hair? I just found a curler and I think it’s a sign from the TARDIS. 🛑 🔔✅ _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (10:24 AM): Update on the hair situation: I did it, it looks great, only burned a little of the bottom and I can hide it underneath all the other hair. _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (10:27 AM): OOH! If it’s curly it shows my earring! I love my earring! 👂🏻👂🏻👂🏻👂🏻👂🏻 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (10:32 AM): Oh, I knew I would have trouble putting this dress on again… Yaz!!!!! How do the women in those red carpet pictures do it??? ? ?? ? 😬💃😬 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (10:48 AM): I figured it out! Got really distracted along the way, started tinkering with the hair curler. I’m going to make it sonic! 💥👌🏻👓 _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (11:01 AM): Got my dress a bit dirty. 😬😬😬 Glad I have the TARDIS to help. 💦💃🚿 _

_ yaz!!!!!!!😊😊😊 (11:15 AM): Doctor, you cannot use the 💦 emoji in that context. I don’t know what Ryan’s been telling you, but do not listen to him, ok? _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (11:15 AM): Yaz!!! ! ! ! !! Are you ready?? ??? ?? I want to see your outfit!!! !!! !! _

_ yaz!!!!!!!😊😊😊 (11:16 AM): I’m not dressed yet. and I said I’d drive Sonya so we can’t take the tardis to the wedding. but anyway you can come hang out up here if you want _

_ Doctor _ _ ✨☄️🌟 (11:16 AM): YAY!!!!!! HANGING OUT WITH YAZ!!!!!!! !!!! I’ll be right up! _

 

“Doctor’s coming up,” Yaz called out to anyone who might be listening. Really, they were all used to it by now. When Yaz was home, the Doctor was nearly always around. Sometimes she went with Ryan and Graham, but Yaz got the sense that they were more private-- she was used to sharing her space. One more person didn’t make a huge difference. Especially when that one more person was the Doctor. 

“Oh, is she now,” Yaz’s mum said from the living room sofa. 

“Getting ready for your  _ date _ ?” Sonya asked, yelling from the bathroom. 

“Not a date!” Yaz yelled back. Her mum scoffed, and Yaz was about to say something else, but then she heard a knock on the door, and she opened it to see-- well, the Doctor, but an almost unrecognizable version of the Doctor. She hadn’t realized how much she had come to think of the Doctor’s charity shop outfit as integral to the Doctor’s self, but of course, when she only ever wore the same outfit, of course it would imprint itself on Yaz’s mind.

But this-- this was  _ different. _

The Doctor was wearing a dark blue dress, the same color as the TARDIS, Yaz noticed. The skirt rippled down to the floor from the waist in small pleats, gold-sheathed toes poking out from underneath. Above the bodice, a sheer golden cape radiated from a clasp over her chest. Through the fabric of the cape, Yaz could see the blue of the dress gathered at one shoulder to make a strap, leaving the other shoulder bare; it was the most skin she’d ever seen the Doctor show, although maybe that wasn’t saying much.

She heard footsteps behind her, and she glanced back to see Sonya leaning against the wall, eyebrow raised.

“Admiring your girlfriend, Yaz?”

“ _ Not _ my girlfriend!” Yaz exclaimed.

“Why not?” the Doctor asked. 

Yaz whipped her head around to look at her, mouth hanging open.

“I’m a girl,” the Doctor said, “according to your human rules, and I’m your friend.”

“Not what it means, Doctor,” Yaz said.

“She really  _ is _ an alien,” Sonya said in Yaz’s ear, quietly enough that their mum wouldn’t hear but loudly enough that the Doctor would.

“Yep!” the Doctor said. “Anyway. First time wearing a dress. What do you think?”

“Yeah, Yaz,” Sonya said. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m not hanging out in the public parts of the house when you’re around,” Yaz said, grabbing the Doctor’s wrist and leading her into the flat. 

“Ooh, going to the  _ bedroom _ , are you?” Sonya asked.

“Hey, at least I  _ have _ a date,” Yaz retorted.

“Thought you said it wasn’t a date?” the Doctor asked.

“It’s not,” Yaz said, thoroughly exasperated. “Come on, Doctor.”

She pulled the Doctor through the hall into her room. Her mum called, “Door open, Yaz,” as she passed, and Yaz replied, “I’m an adult heterosexual, I think it’s all right!”

Once in her room, she sat on the edge of her bed and sighed. 

“Sorry about that, Doctor,” she said. “My family’s impossible.”

“It’s all right,” the Doctor said. She started to sit down, then jumped back up. “Am I going to ruin the dress if I try to sit?”

“I doubt it,” Yaz said, looking critically at the fabric. It was neatly pleated, but didn’t look like it was going to wrinkle much. “Anyway, you’ll be sitting once we get there, so you might as well ruin it now.”

“Good point,” the Doctor said, and she sat down next to Yaz. As she did, she picked up the corner of Yaz’s gold sari, which she was planning to wear for the ceremony. “This yours?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Yaz said. “Just for the ceremony, though.”

“Oh, was I supposed to have  _ two _ ?” the Doctor asked.

“Nah,” Yaz said. “I’m just trying to one-up Sonya, if I’m being honest. It’s petty, but--” She shrugged. “That’s sisterhood for you.”

“Fair enough,” the Doctor said. “Never really got to be a proper sister.”

“Bet you were an  _ annoying _ brother,” Yaz said.

“Oi! I was pleasant!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“I’m sure you were,” Yaz said. “Youngest?”

“Yeah,” the Doctor admitted. “‘Course, now I’m the oldest, too.” Her voice had turned just the slightest bit sad.

“Sorry,” Yaz said, looking away. “I forgot.”

“It’s all right,” the Doctor said. “I carry them with me, remember?”

“Still,” Yaz said. “Has to hurt.”

“Yeah,” the Doctor admitted. “Still. I’m used to it.”

Yaz looked back at her. The Doctor was looking away, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Yaz looked up and saw her old glow-in-the-dark stars, flat against the white ceiling in the daytime.

“Have you always had these stars?” the Doctor asked.

“Since I can remember,” Yaz said. 

“Yasmin Khan,” the Doctor said. “Always looking at the stars.”

Yaz smiled.

“They’re not entirely accurate,” she said. “I wanted to rearrange them like real constellations when I got old enough, but my mum said I wouldn’t be able to get them back on. I figured the wrong stars were better than no stars.”

“The universe is infinite,” the Doctor said. “Somewhere, surely, there’s a sky that looks like that.”

Yaz grinned.

“You think so?”

“I’m sure of it,” the Doctor said. “We can try and find it sometime, if you take a picture.”

Yaz took out her phone and laid back on her bed to snap a picture. She texted it to the Doctor.

“There,” she said, sitting up. “Now it’s official.”

The Doctor looked at her with something in her eyes that Yaz couldn’t quite place. For a moment, she held the Doctor’s gaze, trying to figure out what she was seeing. The air seemed to thicken around them. 

Yaz looked away. The air thinned out again. She checked the time on her phone.

“I’m going to get dressed,” she said, gathering her outfit. “You going to be all right in here?”

“‘Course I will,” the Doctor said. 

“ _ Don’t _ talk to Sonya,” Yaz said.

“No promises,” the Doctor said. 

“And try not to poke around too much,” Yaz said. “This is my stuff.”

“I  _ can _ promise that,” the Doctor said. “Can I upgrade your laptop?”

“Only if you can do it without logging on or destroying my files,” Yaz decided. 

The Doctor took out her sonic screwdriver with a wicked grin on her face. Yaz opened her mouth to say something else, realized she didn’t know what she would say, realized she was horribly curious what the Doctor was going to do to her computer, and left the room with half a smile. 

She changed into her sari in the bathroom, humming to herself. She looked at herself in the mirror, angling this way and that, admiring the dark brown fabric against the gold top underneath. She loved having an excuse to wear it, really; she had gotten it for a cousin’s wedding back when she was still in school, but she hadn’t worn it since. 

Yaz walked back to her room, fabric swishing around her feet. The Doctor was exactly where Yaz had left her, sitting on Yaz’s bed, looking intently at Yaz’s computer. The only difference was that now the bottom of the computer had been cracked open, and the sonic was buzzing, casting an intermittent orange glow onto the circuits. The Doctor was so completely focused on whatever it was she was doing that she didn’t hear Yaz come in, and Yaz got to stand awkwardly in the doorway for a moment and watch the Doctor’s intense concentration. There was something about the way the Doctor looked at things, she thought-- the way she leaned forward with intensity in her eyes and figured things out. 

And then Yaz cleared her throat and the Doctor looked up, and suddenly that intensity was focused on Yaz. Yaz swallowed, suddenly nervous, while the Doctor jumped up and put her hand on Yaz’s shoulder, looking Yaz up and down with an open-mouthed smile on her face.

“Yasmin Khan,” she said. “You clean up well.”

A smile burst onto Yaz’s face, and she ducked her head.

“Thanks, Doctor,” she said. 

Sonya passed behind them.

“You’re flirting,” she said, her voice floating into the room from behind Yaz. 

The moment between Yaz and the Doctor broke. Yaz stepped back, blushing, and called, “Mind your own business, Sonya!” 

“Didn’t deny it!” Sonya called back, already in her own room.

Yaz rolled her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said. 

“Why?” the Doctor asked, her head tilted with genuine curiosity.

“It’s embarrassing, that’s all,” she said. She shrugged. “We have to leave soon, anyway. I’m going to pack up my other outfit.”

“Need help?” the Doctor asked.

Yaz thought for a moment, then said, “No, I want to leave it a surprise.”

“Oh, I love surprises,” the Doctor said. “I’ll turn my back, then?”

“It’s not that high stakes,” Yaz said. “You can if you want, though.”

The Doctor faced the wall, and Yaz opened the door to her closet and pulled out a suit on a hanger. This one was brand new. She had wanted it for a long time before buying it, but she hadn’t had the chance-- or the courage-- to wear it yet. 

She folded each element of the suit with care and put them in a bag. She took a deep breath, then tapped the Doctor on the shoulder and said, “Let’s go.”

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as all that. It took almost twenty minutes to wheedle Sonya into the car, and then five more to argue over who got shotgun (Sonya wanted it, but Yaz pointed out that the Doctor was the guest. The Doctor said she didn’t care, but Yaz stood her ground, and eventually Sonya slid into the backseat, grumbling). Finally, though, they were on their way to the ceremony.

It was an outdoor wedding, held in a local park. Yaz hadn’t met the woman Saira was marrying, but she had a vague inkling that this was an interfaith wedding; Saira was Muslim, of course, they had gone to the same mosque as kids, but Yaz didn’t know about her fiancee. Of course, she was about to find out.

The Doctor seemed thrilled about the whole thing, from the outdoor setting to the arch at the end of the aisle to the simple fact of white folding chairs for the guests. Yaz practically had to drag her to a seat, and then when she got distracted talking to one of her old friends, the Doctor wandered off and Yaz had to excuse herself to go find her. (Her friend told her that she and the Doctor were a cute couple-- Yaz would have corrected her if she had had time, but she really was worried about what the Doctor was getting up to.) It turned out the Doctor had just gotten distracted by Ryan and Graham’s arrival, and Yaz was able to maneuver them all back to a set of seats just before the ceremony began. 

The ceremony was gorgeous, of course. Yaz hadn’t seen Saira in far too long; now, wearing a vibrant blue sari and looking at her wife with love in her eyes, she was radiant, and Yaz glowed knowing that her old friend had this love in her life. The other bride looked wonderful in a full-on white tuxedo, her short hair styled to perfection. Yaz hadn’t really been around a lot of couples of two women before-- her eyes kept moving to the ways they touched each other, the way the one put her hand on the other’s elbow, the way they looked at each other. The way they leaned in when they kissed.

It gave Yaz a feeling she hadn’t really felt before. She didn’t know what it was, but it felt… warm, somehow. She smiled as the brides kissed, wife and wife, and clapped along with everyone else.

“Isn’t it brilliant?” the Doctor asked, her breath warm on Yaz’s ear. “I love love.”

Yaz smiled, still looking at the happy couple. 

“Me, too,” she said.

When it was done, and everyone was milling about, Ryan, Graham, Yaz and the Doctor joined the queue of people waiting to congratulate the brides, Sonya tagging along like the little sister she was. It wasn’t long until they were at the front, and Saira looked thrilled to see Yaz and Ryan, a little confused about Graham, and downright conspiratorial about the Doctor. 

“When’s  _ your _ wedding?” she asked Yaz, cutting her eyes to the Doctor.

Yaz shook her head.

“She’s just a friend,” she said. “She was in town-- I asked if she wanted to come--”

Saira raised an eyebrow, and Yaz rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” she said. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Saira said, her skeptical look replaced with an angelic smile. 

The reception was in a hall just across the street from the park. Sonya insisted in changing into her second outfit in the car, and first-- she emerged in a pink dress that even Yaz had to admit popped really well against her skin tone.

“Not that you’re going to outdo me,” she said to Sonya as she slid into the car. It was a tight fit-- Yaz wasn’t entirely sure she’d be going the changing-her-formalwear-in-the-car route in the future. But she was stuck in it now, so she managed to maneuver herself into her suit. She checked herself in the rearview mirror-- her hair still looked good, she still wasn’t wearing any makeup-- and opened the car door.

It was hard to make a dramatic entrance when the door she was entering from was that of a fifteen-year-old sedan. Still, Yaz did her best, sliding out right into a dramatic pose, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach.

“What do you think?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

“When did you get  _ that _ ?” Sonya asked. 

“When you weren’t looking,” Yaz retorted. It wasn’t Sonya’s approval she was looking for.

She glanced at the Doctor. 

The Doctor’s mouth was wide open. 

“Yaz!” she said. “You didn’t tell me you had a bowtie!”

And just like that, Yaz’s nerves dissolved, and she laughed. 

“And I suppose you have some sort of opinion on bowties,” she said to the Doctor, only half teasing.

“Used to,” the Doctor said. “Haven’t thought about them in a while.” She considered for a moment. “But I just decided I still like them.”

Yaz smiled even wider, until she saw the knowing look in Sonya’s eye.

“Where’d Ryan and Graham get to?” she asked. “Come on, let’s go find them.”

But she held out her arm, and the Doctor took it, like some kind of Victorian courtship, and Yaz knew Sonya noticed.

Ryan and Graham turned out to already be in the reception hall, sitting at a table with a couple more primary school friends and their dates. Sonya, Yaz, and the Doctor sat down just in time for the first dance between the two brides.

Watching them, Yaz had the same warm feeling she’d had earlier. Unwittingly, she glanced at the Doctor, and realized that feeling was getting bigger, and warmer, and suddenly it hit Yaz like a really big truck:  _ she wanted that _ . She wanted what Saira clearly had, that closeness, that smile.  _ With another woman. _ Yaz wanted to live her life loving women.

And-- she almost didn’t admit this to herself-- and when she did it was in the mental equivalent of a whisper-- but-- she sort of wanted the Doctor to be one of those women.

Which meant Sonya and her mum were right. Yaz hated that.

She looked away from the brides, pretending to have been distracted by the towering cake, and pressed that warm feeling down. The Doctor was a friend, a weird and wonderful  _ alien _ friend, who didn’t even see human relationships the same way Yaz did. Even if everyone else assumed they were a thing.

Still uncomfortable, Yaz’s eyes wandered around the room, taking in the buffet table in the corner, the dark gray carpet, the sky-blue tablecloths, the dressed up people sitting around her. At one point, she made eye contact with Graham, and he gave her a knowing look that she didn’t quite like. 

Finally, after some interminable amount of time, the dance was over, and all traces of Yaz’s warm feeling dissipated in favor of nerves and discomfort. She had named her feelings; now she had to deal with them, and she wasn’t sure whether she was brave enough for that. 

“Yaz!” the Doctor said as a faster song came on and people started moving to the dance floor. “We should dance!”

“Maybe in a bit,” Yaz said. “You go on.”

“You all right?” the Doctor asked, hovering halfway between standing and sitting.

Yaz waved a hand. 

“Fine,” she said. “Seriously. Go dance.”

The Doctor hovered for another moment, but when Yaz just gave her an encouraging nod, she got up and went to the dance floor. Ryan joined her, and Yaz got a good laugh at the two of them, possibly the world’s most awkward dancers, before Graham dropped into what had been the Doctor’s seat.

“Ugh,” Yaz said. “I know what you’re going to say.”

“Do you?” Graham asked. “I just thought you might want to talk.”

“You’re such a grandad,” Yaz groaned.

“Well,” Graham said, “I don’t have any biological grandkids, so you and Ryan’ll have to do.”

Yaz hesitated.

“I think I’m into women,” she said, the words coming out all in a rush.

“Any specific women?” Graham asked, a twinkle in his eye.

“You know,” Yaz said, blushing, “I think you know the answer to that.”

But Graham didn’t say anything, and Yaz rambled on.

“She’d never be into me,” she said. “She’s, like, a thousand years old or something. And an alien. And probably has a lot of other options. And if you tell Ryan anything I’m saying, I’ll get the Doctor to take us to a supernova and throw you in myself.”

“Whoa,” Graham said. “The Doc’d never let you do that.”

“I’m smart,” Yaz said. “I could figure out how to work the TARDIS.”

Graham chuckled. 

“I’m sure you could,” he said. “But really, Yaz. If everyone looking at you thinks you’re a couple, you can’t be that far off.”

“Maybe,” Yaz said. “I didn’t even know I liked women until just now, Graham. This is all going a bit fast.”

“Fair enough,” Graham said. He clapped her on the arm in a very grandfatherly gesture. “Just so you know, I’ll support you, whatever happens.”

Yaz smiled.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Now if you’ll excuse me,” Graham said, “I’m going to go check out that buffet.”

He stood up and left, and Yaz looked to the dance floor, trying to find Ryan and the Doctor, almost lost in the crowd-- after a couple moments’ search, she saw the telltale blur of the Doctor’s hair flying absolutely everywhere, and, next to (or, more accurately, above) it, Ryan’s head bobbing awkwardly. 

Yaz got up. She hovered for a moment. She actually had no idea what to do now-- she felt a bit too awkward to go dance with Ryan and the Doctor, but she didn’t really want to keep sitting where she was. She wasn’t particularly hungry. She didn’t want to be alone outside or anything.

Well. If she was going to be having a sexuality crisis, she might as well be having it on the dance floor. She made her way over, stepping around chairs to get to the music. She didn’t seek out Ryan and the Doctor; she just started moving, getting lost in the beat and the crowd, trying her absolute hardest to forget she was anything other than a bass line and a melody.

It worked for maybe half a song, until she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her around. She knew who it was before she turned; sure enough, it was the Doctor pulling her into a circle she had created with Ryan and a few strangers. Yaz let it happen, ignoring the Doctor’s eyes on her in favor of grinning at Ryan, who grinned back, grabbed her hand, and twirled her under his arm. Yaz laughed and raised their joined hands in a goofy attempt to twirl him back, but he almost fell trying to duck under her arm, and so she let go.

“Do I get a twirl?” the Doctor asked from Yaz’s other side, shouting to be heard over the music.

Yaz turned to her, eyebrows raised. The Doctor was holding an arm out, and after a moment’s hesitation, Yaz took it, ignoring her butterflies, and let the Doctor spin underneath her arm. The Doctor tripped a little on her dress and wound up facing Yaz with a breathless smile, and Yaz couldn’t help but grin back. 

“Not going to be wearing a dress next time I do one of these,” the Doctor said. “I miss my pants. Nice and short.”

Yaz laughed. She didn’t let go of the Doctor’s hand. Their eyes met, and for a dizzying moment, Yaz forgot about everyone else in the room, she forgot about her newfound uncertainty, and it was just her smiling with (smiling at) the Doctor, jumping around on the dance floor

The moment didn’t last-- the song ended seconds later, and the brief silence that followed was enough for Yaz to feel awkward and take her hand away, stuffing it in one of her pockets.

“D’you want to get some food?” she asked the Doctor (and Ryan, but mostly the Doctor). 

But before the Doctor (or Ryan) could answer, the music shifted into a smooth, slow ballad. All thoughts of food left Yaz’s mind, even as Ryan made a beeline to the buffet. She was vaguely aware of people around her coupling up, and the Doctor was in front of her, looking extremely confused.

“How’re we supposed to dance to this?” she asked Yaz.

“It’s-- it’s a couples thing,” Yaz explained. “You dance with someone else.”

“Oh, I really don’t spend enough time at parties in this century,” the Doctor said, her nose wrinkled. 

Yaz shrugged. She tried to figure out what to say; she came up with nothing.

She was saved when, a moment later, the Doctor’s face sprang back to its usual intense expression as she looked right at Yaz and said, “Yasmin Khan. May I have this dance?”

A huge, almost silly grin sprang unbidden onto Yaz’s face. She tried to suppress it, realized she couldn’t, wondered if her hair was still in place, and then, finally, remembered that she still had to answer the Doctor’s question.

“Of course,” she said, twisting her hands in front of her. She held her arms up a little awkwardly.

“I’m not sure how to do this,” the Doctor said.

Yaz swallowed. She stepped forward and let a hand rest on the Doctor’s waist. The fabric of the Doctor’s dress was really soft, she noted, in a part of her brain that was completely detached from the fact that  _ she was about to slow-dance with the Doctor _ .

“Like this,” she said. “Put your hand on my shoulder.” 

The Doctor did, and Yaz let her other hand rest on the Doctor’s shoulder, which maybe wasn’t how most people in the room were dancing, but a lot of them were much closer to each other than Yaz was really comfortable with. One of the Doctor’s hands rested on Yaz’s waist, and the butterflies in Yaz’s stomach fluttered. 

And then they were dancing. Swaying to the music. Yaz’s eyes met the Doctor’s, and then she couldn’t look away; that was what the Doctor’s eyes did, after all, they trapped Yaz’s gaze with everything they held. Yaz smiled, and the Doctor smiled back, the exhilarated kind of grin she gave Yaz when they were just about to take some ridiculous risk to save an alien world, and Yaz felt that warm feeling come back, jumping all the way down to her toes. Somewhat subconsciously, she pulled a little closer, still holding the Doctor’s gaze. She could almost feel a physical connection, a sort of thickness between them, something she didn’t quite know how to handle. It had been all well and good having flings in school, but this-- this was something serious, something big, and Yaz didn’t want to risk what she already had.

But the tension was pulling her in, and she felt the Doctor pulling her closer, and suddenly her eyes were sliding closed, and then her lips were on the Doctor’s, and the warm feeling spread until Yaz thought she might just explode, and the only things in the universe were her hand on the Doctor’s waist, the Doctor’s hand on her waist, and the Doctor’s lips on hers.

Until Yaz realized what was happening, and the warm feeling she had had turned hot and uncomfortable. She was kissing the Doctor. Her heart was leaping, but-- this was a risk she hadn’t meant to take. A risk she wasn’t willing to take.

She jumped back and opened her eyes, avoiding the Doctor’s gaze. 

“I’m sorry,” she muttered. She felt separate from everything, separate from the Doctor, separate from the wedding, separate from her own body. Not waiting for the Doctor’s response, she turned tail and fled, pushing through the dancers, through the tables, ignoring Sonya’s snide remark flung from the buffet line. She shoved through the doors to the outside, letting the cool sunset air hit her face, and sank down onto the front steps, trying her hardest to breathe. She untied her bowtie and unbuttoned the top button of her shirt, which helped a little, but that hot and uncomfortable feeling was still there, crawling underneath her skin, and it was all she could do not to curl in on herself entirely.

She heard the door open behind her. For a moment she thought it was just a random guest, but then when the footsteps stopped just behind her she figured it was probably Graham or Ryan or maybe even Sonya, so she said, “Leave me alone,” but it wasn’t Graham or Ryan or Sonya who replied.

“Are you all right?” the Doctor’s voice said, and Yaz looked up, twisting her body to see the Doctor looking down at her with concern written all over her face.

“I’m fine,” Yaz said, but she was sure the Doctor could hear the defeat in her voice.

The Doctor hesitated for a moment.

“Can I sit?” she asked.

“Can’t stop you,” Yaz said. 

The Doctor gingerly lowered herself onto the step next to Yaz. 

“Did you want to talk?” she asked. “Only, I think these things are better when you talk about them.”

“What things?” Yaz asked, looking straight ahead.

“Things like when you’re dancing with your best friend Yaz and then she kisses you and runs out of the building,” the Doctor said. “Just as an example.”

Yaz laughed. Embarrassingly, she felt a lump in her throat, like she might cry.

“Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t want to-- ruin anything.”

She felt the Doctor’s eyes on her, but she still didn’t turn. She wouldn’t have been able to bear those depths just then.

“Ruin what?” the Doctor asked.

“I don’t know,” Yaz said. “What we have. Traveling. Friendship.”

“Yasmin Khan,” the Doctor said, her voice quiet. “I don’t think you could ruin anything if you tried.”

Yaz  _ did  _ look at her then, and she was surprised at what she saw. The Doctor wasn’t looking at her with fire in her eyes; her whole face was relaxed, and Yaz saw a quietness in it she hadn’t seen before. Part of her wanted to interpret that quietness as love, but-- she wasn’t sure if that was really there or she just wanted it to be.

“I like you,” she said. “As a friend, or as more than a friend, or-- or whatever. I’m really glad I met you, Doctor.”

“You should know,” the Doctor said, “the people I get involved with, it doesn’t always end well.”

“I decided ages ago,” Yaz said. “I’m taking that risk.”

To her surprise, she saw tears in the Doctor’s eyes.

“I’ve pushed people away,” the Doctor said. “Spent years mourning. Not traveling with anybody because I wasn’t willing to risk losing them.”

“I know,” Yaz whispered. She was dizzy with uncertainty now, with wanting to know how this conversation was going to end.

“But I need to take that risk, Yaz,” the Doctor said. “As long as you know what you’re getting into.”

Yaz nodded. Now there were tears in  _ her _ eyes.

“I know,” she repeated. “And I can make that decision for myself, Doctor. I need you to trust me to make that decision.”

“I do,” the Doctor said. “I trust you.”

“So,” Yaz said. “Does that mean you-- want to date?”

“I’m rubbish at dating,” the Doctor warned. “Just to warn you. Humans have all these rules, and really I just want to travel with people whose presence I enjoy.”

“That’s not a no,” Yaz said.

“Yasmin Khan,” the Doctor said, and Yaz shivered to hear the Doctor say her full name like that. And then the Doctor slid closer, and Yaz’s mind went blank.

She and the Doctor sat on that step for the rest of the party. They mostly talked, but Yaz got to lean her head on the Doctor’s shoulder, and the Doctor was holding her hand, and not even Sonya coming outside to bother them into leaving with a snide  remark of, “I thought you weren’t dating,” could bring her mood down. 

“Does this make us girlfriends?” the Doctor asked, as they got out of the car. “Like you were saying earlier?”

Yaz tried to remember what she was talking about. Earlier felt like it was miles away.

“I think it might,” she said.

“Brilliant,” the Doctor said, and she kissed Yaz goodnight outside her door.

**Author's Note:**

> this started out as formalwear headcanons and really got away from me. so. thanks to the thasmin discord for enabling this and inspiring the Looks. yaz's sari is loosely based on this picture (https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/507936213412610111/533107962340835331/IMG_9252.JPG)... the suit is based on my own personal headcanons for what i feel like yaz would wear. 
> 
> side note i know very little about wedding ceremonies and logistics so i sort of glossed over it... i also know nothing about sheffield geography. in my new fictional version of sheffield there's a park with a hall of the sort that might be used for wedding receptions. the general layout of the reception was heavily based on american high school graduation parties i've been to because ??? parties are all the same right???
> 
> anyway. hope you enjoyed the fic


End file.
